Hi friends, hope you’re doing great!
I am excited to be back after giving myself a bit of break from blogging. For the past few weeks, my beloved and I have embarked on some house hunting. For those who have gone through the whole house hunting process you would understand that it is not always a bed of roses especially in a competitive property market such as Melbourne. It’s going to be a while until we find our “perfect” home. My mum used to tell me “good things come to those who wait”, this is the mantra I go by in search for our first house.
When it comes to week days, it’s all about speedy cooking without much chopping and standing by the stove. That’s why I fell in love with this grilled chicken recipe which I’ve discovered behind the Leggo’s Tomato Paste box! The original recipe calls for drumettes but I prefer a boneless and more substantial alternative like chicken thigh fillets. It is simply the easiest grilled chicken marinade I have ever made, with only five ingredients including chicken, tomato paste, sweet soy sauce (kecap manis), sesame seeds and sesame oil. The last ingredient was my personal addition to the original recipe for more flavour.
These super delicious and easy grilled chicken fillets are perfect accompaniment for rice with side dishes such as sauteed Asian greens like bok choy or gai larn as well as sunny side up eggs. If you prefer a lighter meal, why not pair them with pre-packaged Asian mix salad leaves and roasted peanuts/cashews.
Ingredients
- 1 sachet Leggo's Tomato paste (equivalent of 2 Tbsps)
- 2 Tbsps sesame seeds
- 1 Tbsp sesame oil
- 2 Tbsps sweet soy sauce (Indonesian Kecap Manis)
- 500g chicken thigh fillets (4 thigh fillets)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180C. Line baking tray with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a mixing bowl, add tomato paste, sesame seeds, sesame oil and sweet soy sauce and whisk until well combined with a fork.
- Coat the chicken thigh fillets and arrange them on the prepared baking tray.
- Bake for 25 to 30 minutes and serve immediately with your choice of rice or salad.
Notes
Tip: Coat the measuring spoon with sesame oil so that the sweet soy sauce will slide off easily.
This looks sensational! I love how simple and easy it is to put together but so tasty.
This might sound like a dumb question to some people but how can you bake/grill chicken at only 180C for only 25-30 minutes? I have always baked/grill chicken at 350. Thank you.
Hi Mary Jane,
180 Celsius is equivalent to 356 Fahrenheit.
I hope this helps. 🙂
Regards
Emily
180 C is 356 F so you’d just back/grill the chicken at 350 (I like to cook food from around the world and started out doing so, so I’m use to just always expecting that it needs converting) it can trip a lot of people up
Hope I helped
Instead of ASSUMING that everyone knows what the conversion is, and instead of making us hunt for it, how about putting the Fahrenheit temperature in the recipe too. Not everyone is a world traveler. And reading through the comments, there’s a 75degree F difference of opinion on what 180C is.
Not a dumb question at all. If you are not used to using C. temps (and I am not) you have no clue.
180c (Celsius) is equal to approximately 350F.Have to do the conversion.
He is measuring in Celsius whereas you are measuring in fahrenheit 180C = 356 F
180C is Celsius degrees which is probably about 425F
I made this last night and it was delicious. So quick and easy to prepare yet it produces it lovely flavours. I’ll definitely be trying this again. Thanks for sharing! 🙂
Hi Mel, thanks for trying the recipe and took the time to leave such wonderful feedback.:) I am delighted to hear that you like it. It has became a regular dish at my house, and I love using the leftover as my sandwich filling to change up the processed meat I usually use. x Emily
I am interested in trying this recipe, (it looks delicious) but I have never seen sweet soy sauce before. Is this something easily found? Could I use regular soy sauce and perhaps add a little brown sugar? Thanks!
Hi Beth,
Thank for your interest in the recipe. Kecap manis aka Indonesian Sweet Soy Sauce is quite commonly found in most major Australian supermarket. You can try to find it in the Asian food aisle of the supermarket or Asian grocery stores will definitely have it. I used the brand ABC sauce (http://www.abcsauces.com/). Alternatively, you can make your own using my recipe here. For this chicken recipe, I’d suggest 2 Tbsps Soy Sauce + 1 Tbsp water + 1 Tbsp brown sugar and simmer over low heat until it resembles thick caramel, think honey consistency. As you’re making in small quantity, please keep a close eye on it as it will burn quickly (hence I suggest you to add a Tbsp of water as a buffer). I hope this helps Beth! x Emily
Amazon sells ketjap Manis!
Hello: Will this recipe work well for boneless chicken breast? Thanks.
Yes it would be but depending on the thickness of the chicken breasts, you may need to adjust the duration of the grilling time. Chicken breasts have a higher chance of getting dry and stringy in the oven.
I would like to try this, but am a bit sketchy about using the taste using sesame seeds. I am trying to broaden my cooking skills (wish me luck). If I do not use sesame seeds, would it have a different taste? Is the taste itself bitter/salty or sweet?
Hi Tee, it’s fine to go without the sesame seeds. Sesame seeds are tasteless on their own, but they exude a mild “nutty” flavour which makes the chicken tastes better. I hope this helps and happy cooking. x Emily
What can I use if I cannot find tomato paste packets?
Hi Tanya,
You can buy tomato paste in a tub which is an equivalent of two tablespoon of tomato paste for this recipe. x Emily
awesome!! thank you so much, I just received my sweet soy sauce in the mail (ordered it online) and plan on making this tonight!! I can’t wait to try it. We tried your steak marinade in coffee and it was delicious. Thanks for sharing your wonderful recipes!!
Oh this looks totally delicious! I wonder what would happen if I add a little chili paste?
Hi there, this looks delicious! I’m in the UK, can I use regular tomato purée?
Hi Michelle,
Thank you for your interest in the recipe. Tomato puree is a little runny for the recipe. Just wondering if you could find something like tomato puree concentrate instead? https://www.google.com.au/search?q=tomato+puree+concentrate&espv=2&biw=1280&bih=649&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiHzrnmnazRAhXGE5QKHee6D8IQ_AUIBygC
Hi, Wondering what I’m missing… Recipe says ‘grilled’, picture looks grilled but nowhere in the instructions does it appear that you are to grill it. I tried it ‘baked and served immediately’ as instructed and it was ok but I know I would have loved it had it been charred a bit. Thanks
Where in the recipe do you ‘grill’ it? Says grilled, looks grilled but I don’t find that instruction – instruction seems baked… Thx